As a beautiful and talented young singer, the last thing Ms Hashy Yusof expected was being diagnosed with a spinal tumour. Telling her story to Today Online, Ms Hashy praised her fiancé for helping her get through the depression caused by the prognosis.

A Love Story Begins

Ms Hashy Yusof participated in the very first season of a singing competition called The Final One. The local competition took the form of a reality show, and during the filming Yusof met Marc Than. The couple began dating.

The Troubling Prognosis

A year into their dating life, Yusof began to struggle with back pain. For two years the pain gradually grew worse and worse, until she could hardly stand or walk. She was confined to a wheelchair at age 23 as doctors raced to figure out what was wrong.

Finally, an MRI showed a tumour on her spine. Because of its placement around the spinal cord, Yusof’s doctors told her that the surgery to remove the tumour would likely leave her paralysed from the waist down. She would also be left unable to have children in the future.

The Onset of Depression

Crushed by the news, Yusof began to sink into despair and depression. She put on a brave face for family members and friends, but inside, she was full of dark thoughts. “I just felt like a burden to everyone around me,” she says. “I was sad all the time. At one point, I couldn’t take it and was pushing everyone away.”

But there was one person who wouldn’t leave her alone— her fiancé, Marc Than. In spite of her insistence that he leave her because she was a burden, Marc stayed by her side. Her encouraged her to get a second opinion about the back surgery.

The second doctor to review her case delivered a much more positive prognosis, with an 80 percent likelihood of recovery if he only removed half the tumour. After a 9-hour operation, a large portion of the tumour was extracted, and within a couple of weeks, Yusof could walk again.

Love and Support

However, the steroids she had to take, coupled with the trauma she had been through, caused her to slide into depression again. She experienced mood swings and weight gain. In spite of her fiancé’s urging, she did not want to see a psychiatrist in Singapore; so he became her support system and helped her through until she recovered and came out of her depression.

Awareness and Encouragement for Others

Today, Hashy Yusof has a better understanding of mental illness, thanks to her own experience. She realises that she was fortunate to have recovered, especially since she did not seek professional help. She and her fiancé performed a concert on October 10, 2017, World Mental Health Day, to help raise awareness of the importance of support for those with poor mental health in Singapore.

Finding a Singapore Psychiatrist

Loved ones, friends, and family members can be crucial to a person’s recovery from depression in Singapore. In addition to that support system, however, it’s important to seek help from a psychiatrist or psychologist in Singapore, especially in the sufferer’s mental health is in serious decline. Contact Adelphi Psych Medicine Clinic to make an appointment for yourself or a loved one who needs fresh hope and help to recover.